Closed avulsion of flexor digitorum profundus of the ring finger: Does the surgical technique really change the outcome?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Flexor digitorum profundus avulsion injuries occurs mainly in sport injuries, also known as "jersey fingers". Is important to surgically approach those lesions with correct timing. Different surgical procedures exist. Complications can occur, but there is no consensus of which type of surgical technique can be superior to others. The aim of this study was to observe three different groups affected by a Type II sec. Leddy and Packer avulsion, managed by three different methods of fixation: pull-out suture through the fingertip without passing the nail bed, bone anchor, and a combination of those. The objective was to analyse whether one of these methods was superior to the others in terms of final TAM and whether one of them was more suitable than the others for the use of the early rehabilitation protocol.

METHODS

66 patients affected by FDP type II closed avulsion were surgically managed by the three different ways and the controlled active motion protocol. TAM, time of recovery and complications were addressed for each group.

RESULTS

The three procedures adopted were similar at the final outcome.

CONCLUSION

These data showed a comparable the strength of suture techniques used with good clinical outcomes in terms of TAM recovery after surgery.